The reply is:

“This would hold only if His production of every effect were inseparable from Him, and His essence alone were a cause that necessarily produced its effects, as maintained by such philosophers as Proclus, Ibn Sīnā, and their followers.

“They say that the First, by His essence alone, is the cause of all effects, and that everything other than Him is His effect. It would therefore follow that none of the events that come into existence could fail to accompany Him. This is unquestionably false.

“But if His producing effects and performing His acts means only that He brings each event into existence at the time it occurs—especially if it is also held that His production of effects involves His will and power, as Muslims and the vast majority of rational people maintain—then one may say:

“Suppose that He has power and acts by choice, and that He brings events into existence even though His will and power need not entail their coming into existence. Then He can all the more readily bring them into existence when His will and power necessarily entail them. In that case, He brings them into existence while their coming into existence is necessary through His power and will.

“They cannot say, ‘Power and will do not single out one time rather than another,’ for this contradicts their own position. They themselves say that, by His power alone, He singles out some circumstances rather than others.”